Castle Dale woman struck by drunk driver

By C.J. MCMANUSSun Advocate reporter

A Castle Dale woman is dead and a Huntington man is in the Carbon County Jail awaiting possible automobile homicide charges following a Saturday morning hit-and-run which police believe was fueled by alcohol. Utah Highway Patrol spokesperson Joe Dougherty stipulated that Linda Potter, 54, of Castle Dale was carried approximately 250 feet early Saturday morning by a southbound pickup that hit her as she was directing northbound traffic on State Road 10 through a single-lane construction zone. The crash occurred at 1:30 a.m. just south of Price at milepost 63, where Potter was working for Nielson Construction.

The pickup's driver, 28-year-old Luke Shroyer of Huntington, continued through the construction zone after hitting Potter, later telling investigators that he "thought he had hit a deer."

Investigators reported that there were no signs that Shroyer stopped or slowed down after the impact. They further estimate that the pickup was traveling well above 30 mph when the incident occurred. Emery County Sheriff's deputies caught up with Shroyer in Huntington, approximately 20 miles south of the fatal crash. After Shroyer was detained, UHP officials conducted a field sobriety test and blood draw which confirmed a .119 blood-alcohol level, far above Utah's legal limit of .08. The UHP release stipulated that the pickup's driver reported being in a Price area bar prior to the crash.

Shroyer has been arrested and booked into the Carbon County Jail on investigation of automobile homicide. Formal charges will be decided on by the county attorney as the investigation continues. S.R. 10 was shut down for approximately four hours so that highway patrol and Utah Department of Transportation officials could conduct appropriate investigations.

"This is another senseless death on one of Utah's Highways," stated Dougherty. "We continue to warn Utahns everywhere that drivers are the ones who can protect construction zone workers by slowing down. When will that message sink in? Who knows? But we will continue telling Utahns that we respect their right to consume alcohol, as long as they do it responsibly."